Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity – November 9, 2025

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text for today is Ephesians chapter 6, our epistle lesson that was read earlier.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Let me read verses 10 and 11.

Paul says, Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes

of the devil. Here ends our text.

Paul says that we struggle against the schemes of the devil.

He also says that we wrestle against the spiritual forces of evil.

And he also says that we are attacked by the flaming darts of the evil one.

The devil is our enemy. Who is the devil? Where did he come from?

Satan was originally a holy angel, but he had rebelled against God.

And we learn from Isaiah 14 that Satan wanted to put his throne over and above God.

Isaiah 14, Satan said, I will make myself like the Most High God.

And again, notice that Satan wants to be over and above God.

2 Peter 2 tells us that other angels also rebelled and joined or fell And also

joined Satan in his rebellion.

The devil then appeared as a serpent in the Garden of Eden.

And first of all, he tried to cause Eve to doubt God's word.

He said to Eve, did God really say, did God really say that you shall not eat

from any tree in the garden?

And then he lied. He told her that if she ate from this fruit, she would not die.

Well, Eve and then Adam gave into the temptation, and they ate.

And as a result, we suffer from the fall into sin, having a sinful nature.

We also suffer from oncoming physical death, and we suffer from the devil himself.

The name Satan means accuser or adversary.

He attempts to accuse us of our sin, but we appeal to Christ's righteousness.

He is our adversary fighting against us.

Scripture also calls him the great dragon, the devil, the ancient serpent,

the deceiver of the world.

Jesus calls him the father of lies.

The devil seeks to pull us away from Christ by tempting us with drugs and alcohol

and pornography and sexual immorality, gambling, greed, and much, much more.

He also tempts us to seek hidden knowledge by the use of occult magic,

seances, Ouija boards, fortune telling, palm reading, and the list goes on and on.

The devil is a father of lies. He lies.

He wants us to doubt God's word. He wants us to follow false doctrine.

He deceives us and misleads us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice.

He does not want us to attend the divine service or to receive the Lord's Supper

or to read or study God's word.

And when we have given in to Satan's temptations, we have fallen into sin.

May God the Holy Spirit bring us to repentance of sorrow over sin and also faith

in the forgiveness of sins.

Who will make the payment for our sin? Who will defeat our enemy,

the devil? And who will destroy our enemy, death?

The Son of God came down from heaven and took upon flesh like us and became man.

He came to pay for our sin, to overcome our enemy, the devil,

and to destroy our enemy, death.

Jesus' ministry began when he was baptized in the Jordan River,

and shortly then after that, he was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

And there, Satan tempted Jesus three times, but Jesus responded to these temptations

with Scripture, with the Word of God.

Jesus withstood Satan and won. Throughout Jesus' ministry, he made people whole

again by casting out a demon within them.

The Gospels record Jesus casting out demons on seven different occasions.

The one miracle mentioned more than any other miracle.

All of this proves that Jesus has a power over the devil and his demons.

Jesus' greatest victory was there on the cross.

There he made the payment for our sins by his precious blood.

He was the sacrificial lamb of God.

And three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. 1 John chapter 3 says that the

1 John 3 · chapter mention

reason why the Son of Man appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

And Hebrews chapter 3 says that Jesus became human, quote, so that by his death

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil.

The devil is defeated, and Jesus has destroyed him by means of the cross and the open tomb.

Jesus has won victory over Satan.

After God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, they were up against the Red

Sea, fearing Pharaoh who was behind them.

And listen to what Moses said to them.

Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.

For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

The battle is the Lord's.

God fought for the Israelites. He sent 10 plagues in Egypt.

He parted the Red Sea and had the Israelites cross over and dry ground.

And then God had the waters of the Red Sea come on top of Pharaoh and his army.

The battle is the Lord's. And that's all they had to do is see what God has done for them.

And so also, Jesus fought for you against the devil.

Jesus defeated Satan by means of the cross in the open tomb.

Stand firm and look. Look at the cross.

Look at the salvation that Christ has done for you.

He has won victory over Satan.

Beloved in the Lord, you were baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ.

Your baptism was like an exorcism, if you will. Satan was cast out and you became a child of God.

You were brought out of darkness and into the light of God's kingdom.

Galatians chapter 3 says that in baptism you quote put on Christ.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

You put on Christ's weapons and armor.

When you were confirmed, you were asked, do you renounce the devil?

And you said, yes, I renounce him. And then you were asked, do you renounce

all his works and all his ways?

And you answered, yes, I renounce them all.

The good news is that you are baptized.

You are a child of God. You confess Christ as your one and only Savior.

But this also means that the devil now attacks you.

He wants to take you out of God's kingdom.

The devil lost the battle with Jesus against Jesus, but he refuses to quit.

1 Peter 3 reads, Be sober-minded, be watchful.

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,

seeking someone to devour.

Resist him, firm in your faith. The devil is your enemy, not God.

God is for you and he is with you. He brings you to repentance and to faith

in the forgiveness of sins.

God feeds you here at this altar with the body and blood of Christ.

And this meal then strengthens and preserves you steadfast in the one true faith.

The devil is your enemy, and he will do everything he can to destroy the truth

of God's word and God as creator.

The devil will advance the false teaching of Darwinian evolution.

He seeks to divide the church. He seeks to destroy the sanctity of life in the

womb, the institution of marriage, the family as the foundation of society,

and even good government and godly leadership.

Paul says in our text for today, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of

his might. It's easy for us to rely on our own strength, but Paul reminds us

to rely on the Lord's strength.

We cannot resist the devil's temptation over evil by our own power.

To those who think themselves spiritually strong, Paul warns,

Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

We are in a battle, not an offensive battle, but a defensive battle,

because we are being attacked by the devil.

God gives us the armor to protect the gospel and his church.

What tools does God give us to defend the gospel and his church?

Like a Roman soldier, we are equipped with six pieces of armor,

a belt, a breastplate, shoes, a shield, a helmet, and a sword.

But these are not physical weapons.

They're spiritual. We fight the devil with a belt of truth. God's word is true.

We can rely on it and trust in it. It's the devil who is the father lies.

We fight the devil with a breastplate of righteousness, not our own righteousness,

but Christ's righteousness.

We are declared righteous through faith in Christ. We fight against the devil

with the shoes of the gospel of peace.

We have peace, knowing that Christ has defeated Satan, paid for our sins,

and has destroyed our enemy death.

We fight against the devil with a shield of faith.

We were given the gift of faith in Christ, who is our one and only Savior.

We fight against the devil with the helmet of salvation.

We are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ, and not by what we do or

our works. And finally, we yield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Just as Jesus resisted the devil's temptations in the wilderness by the Word

of God, so also we respond to the devil with God's Word.

So we stand against the devil with the truth of God's Word, the righteousness of Christ,

the gospel of peace, with faith in Christ, with a message of salvation in Christ

alone, and with the word of God.

Dearly beloved in the Lord, it appears that sometimes that the devil is winning.

Immorality is increasing, the visible church is declining, persecution is growing,

and our Christian freedoms are diminishing.

Yet, not at all joy, because forgiveness, life, and salvation is yours in Christ.

And no one can take that away.

Sansa three of a mighty fortress is our God goes like this.

Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us,

We tremble not. We fear no ill.

They shall not overpower us.

This world's prince may still scour fierce as he will. He can't harm us none.

He's judged. The deed is done.

One little word can fell him.

The word of the gospel causes Satan to fall.

The good news is that you are not alone.

God will never leave you nor forsake you. Christ is your refuge and strength,

the very present help in trouble.

There is nothing to fear. God will make sure that the gates of hell will never,

ever prevail against his church.

The good news is that Jesus has won the victory over the devil.

The devil lost. And you are on the winning side and the victory is yours in

Christ. And there will come a day when we will join the church triumphant in heaven above.

Thanks be to God. Amen.